New Year's Day Fire Destroys Two Buildings

Two abandoned buildings were destroyed by a fire at Agnes Beach on New Year's Day. The blaze also damaged two other structures and disrupted traffic on Airport Beach road and Captain’s Bay road.

Deputy police chief Jennifer Shockley says public safety first heard about the fire around 7:30 a.m. Firefighters were on scene within 10 minutes.

From a firefighting response, Shockley says it was an ideal place for a fire because there were two nearby hydrants.

“However, using both of those hydrants meant both roads were closed for a significant period of time," Shockley said. "Firehoses were laid right across the road and it’s very bad for firehoses to have vehicles driving across them.”

The five firefighters on scene were able to control the blaze within three hours.

Shockley says there was concern someone might have been in the buildings.

“Those buildings down there have been used by vagrants off and on over the years," Shockley said. "It’s not unusual for us to get calls from the property owners saying they’ve had problems with trespassing. We did have some concern about there having been a person or people down there.”

She says they didn’t find anyone, but one firefighter was injured in the operation.

At this point, the department has identified where the fire started, but they’re still investigating how it started.

Remnants of the fire.

Credit Zoë Sobel/KUCB

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Two abandoned buildings were destroyed by a fire at Agnes Beach on New Year's Day. The blaze also damaged two other structures and disrupted traffic on Airport Beach road and Captain’s Bay road.

The Unalaska Department of Public Safety says the fire has been controlled. Firefighters and investigators will remain on scene until the fire is extinguished and the investigation is completed.